1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a rain gutter system for receiving water run-off and rejecting leaves and other debris and, more particularly, to shielded eaves troughs and to a bracket which is form-retaining and supports the shielded trough on the building and which may also be used to fasten the trough to the building.
The invention is specifically directed to an improved gutter and leaf shield system in which the rain water runs faster than in prior art gutters because of added rain run-off capacity and in which the gutter and integral leaf shield is better suited to continuous roll forming and the bracket implements form retaining of and support for the added material required to increase rain water run-off.
2. Description of the Prior Art
There are several patented designs of shielded eaves troughs and brackets for supporting them on a building, some of which are described in the patents discussed below.
In my patent, U.S. Pat. No. 4,757,649, incorporated herein by reference, I disclose an integral gutter and leaf shield in which the shield is formed with a double-curved convolute to direct rain into the trough. I fastened the integral shield and gutter to the wall beneath the roof by a fastener which passed through the integral back wall to the building wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 836,012, patented by G. Cassen, Nov. 13, 1906, describes a trough having a back wall that is higher than the front wall. A separate shield which extends from the top of the back wall slopes forward and downward. The front of the shield turns downward, ending just rearward of the top edge of the front wall. A pair of brace straps attach the shield and trough to the building at intervals along the length of the trough.
One of the braces is a strap attached at one end to the top of the front of the shield, and at the other end to the top of the roof. The other brace is a bar attached at one end to the back wall of the trough by a screw which passes through the bar, the trough wall and the vertical side wall of the building. The other end of the bar is bifurcated to provide an upturned and a downturned attachment tab. The upturned tab is attached to the front end of the shield, and the downturned tab is attached to the trough by the top edge of the front wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,672,832, patented Mar. 23, 1954 by A. K. Goetz, describes a trough having a back wall higher than the front wall. The top of the back wall has a V-shaped longitudinal, horizontally arranged groove. The rear edge of the shield has a matching groove so that the rear edge can seat on the back wall groove.
A pair of nails attach the shield and trough, respectively, to the building. The first nail has a threaded back end and passes through the back wall and into the vertical side wall of the building. A screw which passes through the downward turned front of the shield engages the threaded back end of the nail and forces the shield toward the building wall so that the shield is seated on the back wall groove. The nail arrangement is repeated at intervals along the length of the shield and trough assembly. The shield may be removed for cleaning the trough by removing the screws.
The second nail is through the front end of the trough and into the side wall of the building. An elongated tubular spacer on the nail prevents collapsing of the trough when the second nail is hammered into the side wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,873,700, patented Feb. 17, 1959 by H. C. Heier, describes a trough having a back wall that is higher than the front wall. A generally flat rearward section of the shield extends forward from the top of the back wall. Angling slightly downward, it extends forward of the front wall and ends just rearward of the front wall. The ends of the trough and shield sections are interconnected by brackets which are fastened to the wall of the building by screws.
A series of the spacers along the length of the shielded trough assembly provides slot openings to the trough for receiving water that moves down over the shield. The front end of the shield is fastened to the top of the front wall of the trough by way of a screw through the shield, through a wedge-shaped spacer between the shield and front wall and through the front wall.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,493,588, patented by G. Duffy, Jan. 15, 1985, describes a trough having a back wall which is nailed to a roof under the shingles, extends forward and down from the roof in a curve that then turns back under the eaves, whereupon the wall reverses direction and forms a suspended trough, the front wall of which has a screen that contacts the front of the curved back wall just below the forwardmost part of the curve, so that water flowing down over the curve enters the trough via the screen.
A strap is attached by one end to the rear surface of the back wall near the bottom of the inward turned curve over the trough and attached by the other end to the eaves soffit.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,497,146, patented Feb. 5, 1985 by R. Demartini, describes a support strap having one end resting on the roof of the building. In juxtaposed support with the underside of a separate shield which is retrofitted on already installed gutters. The strip extends forward from the roof until it is about parallel with the front wall of the trough. The strip then curves back with the shield until it reaches the bottom end of the shield, whereupon the strip continues downward and is fastened to the upper part of the front wall of the trough, in order to support the shield on the trough. It is fastened to the trough either directly by a fastener or indirectly by attachment to the ferrule of a horizontal bolt that passes through the front and back walls of the trough normal to the back wall of the trough and into the vertical side wall of the building.